There is a fascistic underpinning to much of the current push of "AI", c.f. the TESCREAL ideology bundle https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13636
But there are definitely also non-fascistic people involved in the hype cycle. They are invariably supporting a fascistic project, yes, but they are not motivated by the fascism. Conflating these groups will just make it harder to resist the movement, to pick it apart, to turn it on itself—which I think should be our goal.
I'm seeing this tendency among *some people* on here to make this a very black and white issue. Which is a common reaction when there are significant stakes, which there are. But it is seldom constructive.
In the AI hype movement we also find:
- Scam artists trying to make a quick buck
- Tech enthusiasts who stared into the eyes of Glyph's basilisk and became deluded, thinking it is making them faster c.f. https://mastodon.social/@glyph/116220257549451634
...
- Various professionals who have extreme FOMO and don't understand how everyone else is making LLMs work well (they aren't)
...and more.
I hope you see that I am not saying these groups are somehow excused in thwir behavior from not being motivated by fascism—the bar is not quite so low.
But understanding who these people are, means we can appeal to them, convince them, build a counter-movement and a space to land for ex-converts.
That's what I'd like us all to do.
Aaand just as assuming fascist intent for any AI use or hype, assuming always a profit motive is just as counter-productive.
But this case comes from someone who seems most interested in fighting AI bros on the fediverse. Which is like, fine, we all need hobbies, but it's not actually productive towards avoiding LLM dystopia.
Niels Abildgaard